This has dethroned Takada-Koshinaka 5.8.1986. as my best match of all
time, which is honestly something I never expected to happen. I still
kind of wish Takada/Koshinaka was my #1. I certainly think it is the
most ambitious and fascinating pro wrestling match ever. And it's the
one match that I thought could have reached pro wrestling perfection. I
did think it had some flaws (I didn't like a revenge tombstone and it
had a blown spot or two too many). Still the way they seamlessly
transitioned from using shoot style to junior to classic wrestling stuff
is just unreal.
This match wasn't as ambitious. It just happened to be the perfect shoot
style match. And shoot style is my favourite pro wrestling style, and
Tamura is the wrestler who best encompasses what I want out of shoot
style. This is his masterpiece.
It's hard to put the beauty of some of the grappling sequences into
words. Does "the best stuff ever done in wrestling" sound like a good
enough visual image? If there's one thing I dislike about RINGS it's
that I feel they sometimes used rope breaks as a cheap way to generate
heat and kick things into another gear. That's pretty much everything
Tamura stands against as a wrestling character. He refuses to use rope
breaks unless he is in mortal danger. He's always looking for a counter
to a submission. Maybe it's his supposed inferiority complex, maybe it's
his insane drive to be the best-it doesn't really matter one way or the
other. I love the way this match progressed. The insanely hot crowd
chanting both fighter's names before the beginning of the match is the
kind of stuff that instantly slaps you in the face. That something so
simple could add to the match so much. There's no wasted movement, no
down time-it's not 20 minutes of nearfalls, but it is constant action.
Not constant highspots even. But they're always looking for an opening.
Always looking for a transition. There are several moments in the middle
of the match where they tease you with a bigger submission nearfall
only to counter of it. And the match builds and builds and then it just
explodes into the most dramatic best thing to ever happen. Tamura and
Yamamoto put on a clinic in selling fatigue-and even in the amazing
final battle manage to throw in neat touches playing up to Tamura's
character. Despite always being a wrestler who insisted on winning using
his ground skills Tamura throws that all out of the water and dares
Yamamoto to get up and continue their striking battle. It's an all time
great moment based on his performance in the match and execution alone
but the backstory adds to it as well. And when it's becoming obvious
neither of them are going to prevail he shoots for a takedown right at
the end to try to win, which may be the ultimate Tamura moment. *****
Nema komentara:
Objavi komentar